Ride the Wave
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A multimedia performance telling the story of 3 bros searching for an epic surf on the last day of summer. In this piece, set in a loosely imagined 2060s rich with vibes, grooves, and laughter, a group of young women riff on the surfer bro trope to examine how friendship, the pursuit of freedom, and growing up will be impacted by climate catastrophe. Ride the Wave invites the public to collectively imagine how a young person can dream of a future that is no longer promised.
Production History
January 12–28, 2023
The VORTEX (Austin, TX)
Credits
Written by Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Directed by Teresa Cruz
Performed by Aylin Eker, Mattie Barber-Bockelman, Riana Moore
Story developed in collaboration with Alley Horn
Sound Design/Projection Engineering by Johann Solo
Lighting Design by Brandi Alexander
Assistant Lighting Design by J Mwaki
Jellyfish Creation/Assistant Scenic Design/Scenic Painting by Lilly Percifield
"Rough Weather" by Dane Terry
Costume Design by Ensemble
Dramaturgy by Deb Streusand
Stage Management by Tamara L. Farley
Assistant Stage Manager: Kate Meehan
Assistant Director/Assistant Stage Manager: Joilynn Green
Deck Crew: Sharky Meehan
Cast
Sketch – Aylin Eker
Trevor – Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Matt – Riana Moore
Press
"Ultimately, the play is about this not knowing what to do, being part of the cycles of nature, and the beauty we can experience anyway if we cling to friendship and commit to facing the future. Ending with a jubilant lip-sync to Dane Terry’s “Rough Weather,” Ride the Wave is a fun, resonant journey that invites creativity and imagination as we build a collective future." –Courtney Thomas, Sightlines Magazine
"Actors Riana Moore, Aylin Eker, and Barber-Bockelman – New York-based artists all – channel Matthew McConaughey’s shirtless, soul-searching Steve Addington in Surfer, Dude, master the physicality of Sean Penn’s stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and capture the cluelessness of Keanu Reeves, particularly while playing Theodore Logan in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The three also emulate these characters’ loveable inanity, hilarious ineptitude, and endless exuberance. And they seem right at home hanging at the sunlit wood pier and lifeguard tower, beautifully designed by Teresa Cruz (who also directs and successfully drives this production forward), and basking in the psychedelic undertow of said rogue wave." –Bob Abelman, The Austin Chronicle
Radio Interview: Off Stage and On the Air with Lisa Schepps
Ride the Wave was funded and supported by VORTEX Repertory Company, Six Square Austin’s Black Cultural District, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
A note from Teresa & Mattie: This piece was born of friendship. It began as a bit between friends one night in 2017 that we put on the back burner. It kept bubbling over, bringing us joy and bringing us together. As we riffed on these boys - Trevor, Sketch, and Matt - we would build and rebuild their world all the while coming back to their connection, conflicts, and jokes. The surfer boy bit is freeing for us. It gives us license to go big and broad. It's dumb but deep. It's connected to nature, freedom, and fun. And it's a reason to get up in the morning: to catch a wave or to see your friends.
As friends in a creative process, we center laughter, deep curiosity, and honest inquiries into our relationships. The VORTEX has propelled us, first in 2020 as we experimented with this play as a livestream and now as a fully embodied theatrical event. Today, we meet you as a group of young artists. We're standing on this beach, looking out, and wondering what's coming next. What will the future hold? One thing we know is that we do not respond alone, but together - with friends and strangers alike.
The VORTEX in collaboration with CultureHub
May 27, 2020
A workshop production developed across distance, Ride the Wave links three friends battling their boyhood, nostalgia, and the maddening loss of being together. In 2020, Ride the Wave dove into an emerging form, created using CultureHub’s browser-based media router for collaborative performance, LiveLab.
Credits
Written by Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Directed by Teresa Cruz
Performed by Aylin Eker, Mattie Barber-Bockelman and Riana Moore
Technical Direction by DeAndra Anthony
Graphic Design by Leah Rosofsky
Original Music by Johann Mahler
Cast
Sketch Riana Moore
Trevor Aylin Eker
Matt Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Process Shots/How We Built This:
Collage are often a part of our early developmental processes. In Ride the Wave, Aylin, Mattie, Riana, and Teresa created collages independently early on in the rehearsal period to create images that would color in our world as we built it.
Mattie and Alley Horn rode the Q train to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY in late summer 2018 to research the boardwalk, soak up east coast beach culture, and catch vibes.
